Entering the SOTD zone | Simply Ranked
Plus: low-effort travel blogs, Foy sounds, the skate-footage-to-credits ratio, and more.
The definitive weekly ranking and analysis of all the skateboarding and other things online that I cannot stop consuming and how it makes me feel, personally.
Low-effort travel blog: part 1
Rank: 1
Mood: 🌴
If you're going to fly across the ocean to spend time in a beautiful locale while ostensibly on vacation but also picking away at various projects on your laptop when you have the time or it's too hot outside, you might as well think to yourself, hmm, are there any notable skate spots nearby? You did bring your board, so this is not a wrong thought to have. In fact, you might have already had this thought in advance of leaving, and, in particular, after watching the latest Yardsale video where Thaynan Costa does an incredibly messed up trick on a ledge-into-bank that you're pretty sure is in the place you're going.
It's also not unreasonable to search out the spot online first, discover that it's mere minutes away from your accommodations, and then visit it on your first night in the city after a hellish travel day that included a series of flight delays and cancellations. If anything, consider it a treat to walk under the stars as the heat abates, allowing the city to buzz with new anticipation while you promise your partner that it's not that much further.
When you finally arrive and the spot looks just as good as it does in the videos, it's also fair to start game-planning all the tricks that you think you can do on it, that you hope you can ride away from so you can have such accomplishments as a sort of keepsake that lives in your phone or on some other screen. Sure, there are other things to do and see in a city as old as this, but it's also okay to spend the intervening days between first seeing the spot and then skating the spot only thinking of the spot. You're on vacation; spend it as you wish.
Foy sounds
Rank: 5050
Mood: 🎵
As a function of being Jamie Foy, one of Earth's best skateboarders and likely this planet's premier navigator of grinds long and kinked, Foy is responsible for some of the best sounds the skateboard can make. The series of tricks he rattles off for his Thrasher "Cold Call" episode, filmed and edited by Chris Gregson, shouldn't be surprising if you're familiar with Foy's work. However, if you are a person capable of feeling emotion, they should still give you pause, awe. Especially in the way they ring out.
Because that is one of the best parts of skateboarding — the sounds. At the risk of being overly trite and sentimental, nothing beats a crunchy grind or crisp pop echoing across concrete. It's a primal enough effect that you can't help but succumb to the involuntary onomatopoeia of it all.
"Wchckckckckckckckckckckckckckckckckckckckwchtuh"
"Wachtehtehtehtehtehtehtehtehtehtehtehwaptuh"
"Tatcheeeeeeeeeeeeeeetutcheeetutcheetutcheetutcheetuh"
Just listen. Over and over again. How beautiful it is, the sound of unprecedented ability. And these are just his b-sides! Tracks deemed not quite good enough, so they made it into the mini-doc series. It makes a person wonder what will make it onto the a-side. Also, if we keep this strained metaphor going, what note is a fakie-ollie-switch-front-crook? Is grinding a kinked rail with multiple drops the equivalent of a skronky jazz riff? Is back 50-50ing that hairball rail Cole Wilson front 50-50'd a cover? Sure, why not.
We've got to stop it here, though. If we go any further, we'll start comparing Foy to musicians of a similar calibre. It's not like I have one in mind, but if I did, it would absolutely be Neil Peart.
Entering the SOTD zone
Rank: 1
Mood: 🐙💥
A couple of weeks back, following the public release of Nike SB's QuickStrike video, I noted that Antonio Durao might be entering pole position in the race to determine the best skateboarder of this calendar year.
Antonio Durao kicks off the video and continues his current campaign of figuring out each and every way to gently remove his foot from his board in the middle of a trick. He also jumps higher, further, and with more grace than almost any skateboarder in living memory. If he were dubbed the year's best skateboarder, I would not protest.
I wrote this knowing that OD, the upcoming full-length video from Hardbody Skateboarding, Durao's board sponsor, was due to release soon and had already seen a gobsmacking trick leaked online following the premiere in early August.
Then, on Monday, continuing what is approaching an annual trend of August being the new hotspot on the calendar for skate video releases, Hardbody uploaded OD. It is a great watch as a whole, but for our purposes here, let's focus on Durao. While he may be putting himself in contention for Thrasher's SOTY, after watching his parts in both QuickStrike and OD, I'd also contend he's firmly in an even rarer zone: SOTD (Steve Olson - Tentacles of Destruction).
A watch of Steve Olson's section from Foundation Skateboard's 1994 video Tentacles of Destruction shows us a skateboarder living outside their contemporary time and space, much like how Durao is now. Consider just a handful of the tricks Olson did in '94:
- Backside-180-nosegrind-180 on Hubba Hideout
- Frontside-kickflip-fakie-5-0
- Crook-nollie-frontside-heelflip
Those are the ludicrous maneuverings of person and skateboard that only someone who has unlocked a next evolution of human potential or is possessed by a primeval daemon can achieve. What's different here is that we've never seen anyone make a home in the SOTD zone for such an extended period, as Antonio Durao has existed in this space for years, as evidenced by any of his previous video parts. It's unclear if it is even safe to be there for so long. What we do know is that Durao has amassed a great wealth of power during his time in SOTD, and can now will his skateboard to do anything he wishes.
The only thing that limited Olson was the imagination of his era, and even then, he eclipsed it within his short window of relative prominence. That doesn't appear to be an issue for Durao.
Credits where they're due
Rank: 0
Mood: ⏱️
Big, exciting tricks presented in a gratuitously heroic (but still fun) fashion? A skater with a defined aesthetic (greaser) and a soundtrack that matches that marketable persona (doo-wop)? Brandon Burleigh's American Zero "pro part" for Zero Skateboards has all the hallmarks of classic Zero Skateboards.
The following isn't so much a critique as it is an observation of a continuing editorial trend, but we're really juicing the run-time of single video parts with extended credits and b-roll, huh? The American Zero YouTube upload is a total of 08:40 with the credits starting at 05:36. That means 03:04, or about 38.6% of the video, is credits, etc.
To be clear, that doesn't mean there isn't good stuff contained within those 03:04; it's just not the 08:40 of skateboarding you might expect it to be. That said, after a part as gnarly as Burleigh's, maybe a little cool-down is a good thing.
Low-effort travel blog: part 2
Rank: 1
Mood: 🌴
If you've reached this point of your trip and still haven't landed the tricks you envisioned on the skate spot that has been occupying much of your mind space, don't fret; there's still some time. Maybe you just need to go faster or something. Or you need another spot. Check out a local skate shop and inquire (special shoutout to the guys at Cybercafé for literally plugging spots into my Google Maps — great shop and people).
In the meantime, keep looking around. There are spots everywhere for those with the eyes to see. And if you keep watching, you might even see them in a local video the day after you stumble upon them.
Clip via ARE YOU MERAS ? by Leonardo Beazotto.
In the end, maybe you'll get a trick to take home. Or not. Either is fine if you come to terms with it.
Something to consider:
Kelsey McKinney
Good thing: The recent Colonialism Skateboards releases.
Another good thing: Josh Katz of Skatefolio has a cool photo essay in The New York Times.
Another NYT on skateboarding thing: Shawn Connolly and new tech used to treat Parkinson's.
A good travel thing:
"We’re burning on both ends with age and time," Servold says, "so the more you’re in the van the more opportunity you have."
Mike Munzenrider with another banger for Quartersnacks.
Name *
A listening thing: The audiobook version of my book Right, Down + Circle is now available on Spotify and other places where things like this exist.
I've got five free download codes to give away, redeemable on the Spotify mobile app. If you want one, respond to this email or send me one directly. First come, first listen ❤️
A Dunk analysis thing: Jarren Jose looks at Yuto Horigome's footwear habits for 4PLY.
A pants analysis thing: Includes a shoutout to my favourite pant, the Quasi Warren Trouser in Olive, which I am wearing as I write this.
Village Psychic
Rest in Peace, Chris Casey.
Until next week… there might be a moment when you stare deep into the eye of a wandering peacock while touring its home, an ancient castle. Let its gaze settle on you. What goes on in the mind of such a creature? It isn't our business, but I imagine it's studying our outfits, gauging whether or not we are on its sartorial level — beautiful, vain goddamn bird.
Laser Quit Smoking Massage
NEWEST PRESS, available April 1, 2024
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My new collection of essays is available now. I think you might like it. The Edmonton Journal thinks it's a "local book set to make a mark in 2024." The CBC called it "quirky yet insightful." lol.
Book cover by Hiller Goodspeed.
Right, Down + Circle
ECW PRESS
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I wrote a book about the history and cultural impact of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater that you can find at your local bookshop or order online now. I think you might like this one, too.
Here’s what Michael Christie, Giller Prize-nominated author of the novels Greenwood and If I Fall, If I Die, had to say about the thing.
“With incisive and heartfelt writing, Cole Nowicki unlocks the source code of the massively influential cultural phenomenon that is Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and finds wonderful Easter-eggs of meaning within. Even non-skaters will be wowed by this examination of youth, community, risk, and authenticity and gain a new appreciation of skateboarding’s massive influence upon our larger culture. This is my new favorite book about skateboarding, which isn’t really about skateboarding — it’s about everything.”
Photo via The Palomino.
